16-6 The Farmington–Pope Mastodon: Morphological, Paleoenvironmental, and Taphonomic Insights from a Complete Late Pleistocene Mastodon in Connecticut

Session: From Thin Section to Outcrop: Exploration of Undergraduate Research (Posters)

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Abstract:

The Farmington–Pope Mastodon is a rare and scientifically significant specimen, representing the only complete mastodon skeleton discovered in Connecticut and the most complete specimen known from New England. The skeleton was uncovered in 1914 by workers on the Pope Estate in Farmington, Connecticut, and was first described by Schuchert and Lull in 1914. Subsequent radiocarbon dating places the specimen between 14,900 and 14,200 cal YBP. The exceptional completeness and Late Pleistocene age of the Farmington–Pope Mastodon creates a unique opportunity to examine mastodon morphology, paleoenvironmental conditions, and taphonomic processes in the northeastern United States. To place the Farmington–Pope Mastodon into broader morphological and environmental context, analyses of tooth morphology and regional paleoenvironmental data were conducted. Molar length, width, and dental wear patterns of third molars (M3) were measured from 25 mastodon specimens from across the continental United States, housed within collections at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Paleoenvironmental conditions were reconstructed using pollen records from nearby sites of equivalent age obtained from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database. A taphonomic analysis was also performed based on visual observations of skeletal preservation and compared to equivalent material from other locations. Molar measurements indicate that the Farmington–Pope Mastodon exhibits greater molar width than most comparative northeast specimens and dental wear patterns suggest a much higher degree of wear than the mastodon discovered in the surrounding area. Pollen data indicate that the regional paleoenvironment during the time of deposition was dominated by spruce and pine forests. Taphonomic observations suggest that the preservation of the specimen is the result of rapid burial in a small upland swamp composed of glacially derived thick clay. Post-death of the Farmington-Pope Mastodon, the environment shifted to more oak and birch forests. By integrating dental morphometrics, pollen data reconstruction, and taphonomic data, the Farmington-Pope Mastodon can be placed within regional patterns of mastodon ecology and environmental change during the Late Pleistocene.

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